SUMMER SAFETY -
Nearly 70 percent of Americans, according to the American Red Cross, have been involved in some kind of summer emergency, ranging from insect bites to heat stroke and other life-threatening situations.
Here are some helpful tips:
HOW TO HYDRATE
• Drink plenty of fluid. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink.
• If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, nonalcoholic fluids each hour.
• Avoid liquids with alcohol or sugar -- they will cause you to lose more body fluid.
• Stay away from very cold drinks -- they can cause stomach cramps.
Limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours and wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Monitor young children and elderly people because they are more sensitive to the heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Body temperature can rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. A very important tip for summer health is to drink enough fluids -- hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE HEAT STROKE
If they have a body temperature above 103 degrees Farenheit, red, hot dry skin, and there's no sweating -- which means that the body's sweating mechanism is failing, and the body is unable to cool down. If the person has a rapid strong pulse, headache, dizziness or nausea -- call 911 and get the victim to a shady area in the meantime. Try to cool the victim rapidly using whatever methods you can like spraying them with cool water from a hose.
SYMPTOMS
• Body temp > 103°F
• Red/hot/dry skin
• No sweating
• Rapid pulse
• Headache/dizziness/nausea
LEARN CPR
Learn how to do Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR. According to the American Heart Association, "about 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in private residential settings," so knowing how to perform CPR can mean the difference between life and death. It also can resuscitate someone who has suffered a near-drowning -- and as we know, summertime means a lot of time at pools. You can find a class at your local chapter of the American Red Cross.